A section of the Athletic Club members at the club’s general assembly have proposed a relaxation of their famous Basque-only selection policy.
The Basque side only use players born or reared in the Basque provinces, and that has been the case for the entirety of their 125-year history, something that has seen them develop a unique identity within football.
However at their most recent general assembly, a group of members proposed that these rules be relaxed to include the children of Basque parents as eligible players. Athletic President Jon Uriarte shot down this suggestion, as per Relevo, explaining that they did not run on a mandate of changing the club’s philosophy, nor did either of the other two candidates.
The argument was that children of Basque parents are eligible for a Basque national team, and often these days Basques leave the region in order to continue their education or further their careers.
“And if [my children] have children, why is it my grandson will not be able to play for Athletic when the first thing he is going to hear in his life is Basque?” asked Txema Ondero.
If Ondero and his colleagues want to take the matter further, they must gather the signatures of 10% of the delegated members (1,115) and present a proposal at the club offices in order to open a wider debate or commission to investigate the matter. This could then lead to a vote.
There will no doubt be a nervousness amongst the Athletic members about any changes to the thing they hold most dearly about their club. However it is also true that emigration is much more common than it was 100 years ago, and the understanding of national identity is different to what it was then.
